Rethinking Afghanistan In Tea Party Circles

wkmac

Well-Known Member
More Conservatives Are Questioning The Afghanistan War

Survey of Conservatives on Afghan War

Norquist Decries Lack of Conservative Debate on Afghanistan

Monday will mark the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower's famous Farewell Address in which he warns of the concerning power of what he called the "Military Industrial Complex". The American Conservative magazine in recognizing this anniversary has published a symbosium of essays on this speech and it's legacy entitled, "Ike's Last Stand." Included are video of the actually speech in full as well as the text along with 5 essays from different opinions of the speech and Ike's legacy from it.

From a certain POV, President Obama may indeed be a great President in that he forced, not unlike FDR and the New Deal, a conversation to take place and today's conservatives may indeed be starting to look back to their roots and traditions and thus re-capture something they lost long ago, ironically some argue lost during the Ike years in the WH.
 

island1fox

Well-Known Member
I believe along with the economy the wars will once again be a major element of the 2012 Presidential election. If the Republicans stick to the same old "we must finish this to a successful conclusion" Obama will be a shoe in for a second term.
I feel that most Americans are not so much "war weary" but rather are sick and tired of propping up corrupt governments ---much more so than our own.
We are wasting our young peoples lives and blood along with treasure for areas in the world that have been and will be screwed up for a very long time.
I am not afraid to take on an enemy or terroists but I am strongly against nation building.
Time to get America back on track, secure our borders,bring all of our heros home from all countries, rebuild the strengh and infrastucture of America and deal with clear and present dangers with quick and bold action. Not talking about Isolationism --just very tired of being "police men" of the world and hated for it.
Clooney if you want to fight in the SUDAN with Angolina and Brad --be my guest -stop trying to drag us into another civil war.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Oh. We no longer want to fight wars to "liberate" the people of evil emperors and leaders? Or is it unpatriotic to even question the efforts of a president in a time of war?
 

Babagounj

Strength through joy
let's see, here we are having a drug war; billions have been spent to try to stop the flow of drugs .
In Afghanistan , where most of these drugs come from, our troops are being used to protect these same fields.
 

klein

Für Meno :)
In year 2000 the Taliban outlawed Opium culivation in Afhanistan.
In 2001 the US invaded.

Today, Afghanistan accounts for 80% of the worlds supply of Opium and Herion.(compared to 35% in earlier years).

Another good documentary I seen was , that Iran & Iraq always kept eachother in check.
But, with the US invasion of Iraq, Iran has no longer one to keep them in check, anymore.

They said, Iran would have never gotten that Nuclear Plant operating, and wouldn't have become a nuclear threat, if Iraq was never invaded and "liberated".
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
Agreed. Great point Baba. Afghanistan was always a CIA war and the CIA controls the global drug market as a means of fund raising for illegal ops that need to stay off the books. However the Taliban completely shutdown the opium production that CIA profitted from and then......oppps, you don't think..........

Multiplicity in US Foreign Policy has always been a huge issue as it also leads the State to the desired effect of plausible deniability. Hiding in plain sight has been the CIA way.

[video=youtube;z2Bd6lmpIFI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Bd6lmpIFI[/video]

And does this stuff have a familar sound to it?

[video=youtube;jnYZVNVqBgU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnYZVNVqBgU[/video]
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
let's see, here we are having a drug war; billions have been spent to try to stop the flow of drugs .
In Afghanistan , where most of these drugs come from, our troops are being used to protect these same fields.

No. They are there to keep Inda and Pakistan from pulling us all into a nuclear holocaust. And yes. Those WMD are very, very real.
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
If war and economic booms are equal, then why are we not all swimming on easy street right now? Should we therefore consider "Less Bang for the Buck?"

To get a sense of the impact the U.S. military has on the American economy, we must remember the most important lesson in all of economics: to consider not merely the immediate effects of a proposed government intervention on certain groups, but also its long-term effects on society as a whole. That’s what economist Frédéric Bastiat (1801–50) insisted on in his famous essay, “What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen.” It’s not enough to point to a farm program and say that it grants short-run assistance to the farmers. We can see its effects on farmers. But what does it do to everyone else in the long run?
Seymour Melman (1917–2004), a professor of industrial engineering and operations research at Columbia University, focused much of his energy on the economics of the military-oriented state. Melman’s work amounted to an extended analysis of the true costs not only of war but also of the military establishment itself. As he observed,
Industrial productivity, the foundation of every nation’s economic growth, is eroded by the relentlessly predatory effects of the military economy. …Traditional economic competence of every sort is being eroded by the state capitalist directorate that elevates inefficiency into a national purpose, that disables the market system, that destroys the value of the currency, and that diminishes the decision power of all institutions other than its own.
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
The Trouble with the Tea Party

Posted by Anthony Gregory on March 5, 2011 10:34 AM
Now that Republicans won the House, the Tea Party is much less anti-government. Just wait until the Republicans recapture the White House. Like the partisan antiwar movement today, I predict the Tea Parties will disappear off the streets almost entirely, and go back to full-time support of the regime.

You know, I think I know what the problem is. You see the democrats made the very same mistake and now the republicans opps I mean tea party or is the other way or......anyhoo they both are using the same dictionary and thus have come to accept the same definitions for what hope, change and transparency mean!

Did I ever tell you, "I told you so!"

Well..... I told you so!
:rofl:
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
You know, I think I know what the problem is. You see the democrats made the very same mistake and now the republicans opps I mean tea party or is the other way or......anyhoo they both are using the same dictionary and thus have come to accept the same definitions for what hope, change and transparency mean!

Did I ever tell you, "I told you so!"

Well..... I told you so!
:rofl:

How very smart of you!:happy2:
Actually I think Bill Clinton mentioned the same thing when he was asked what advice he would give Obama. In essence he said, go big in the first term but expect to succeed mainly in small steps around the edges.

And you think third parties, free markets, and freedom is possible in this country. How does someone get to your advanced age and yet hold on to such foolish ideas?:happy-very::peaceful:
 
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